Most of the car washes, food sales and other fundraising efforts to get to Oahu are over, so let the games begin.
The state tournament rush begins Wednesday with HHSAA baseball and water polo, tennis begins Thursday and judoka hit the mat Saturday.
Golfers get a travel reprieve and so do Division I volleyball teams.
In a nutshell, the spring high school sports season is coming to a close, but it does so with a bang:
Baseball
Waiakea (8-3) has had more than two weeks to sit around and stew since it was upset by Hilo in the BIIF Division I championship series. Since winning it all in 2012, the Warriors have lost to the eventual champion in the quarterfinals the past two seasons. They open in the first round at 10 a.m. Wednesday against Kailua at Les Murakami Stadium.
The Surfriders (12-3), the OIA’s third seed, finished fourth last season, though neither pitcher who won state games last year is back.
The Vikings (9-4) had to win their regular-season finale at Kealakehe just to finish above .500, but they’ve flourished in the postseason, winning four in a row. Seeded fourth, Hilo looks to continue that trend at 10 a.m. Thursday against either Kamehameha-Kapalama or Kaiser.
No team in the BIIF is playing better than Kamehameha-Hawaii, which breezed through two games last season at states before losing to Maryknoll in the Division II championship game for the second consecutive season. Joshua Muneno, who pitched a one-hitter against the Warriors in the 2014 final, is back to lead the top-seeded Spartans (13-2).
Second-seeded Kamehameha (12-1) must first deal with Molokai on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The Farmers return pitcher Hana Dudoit-Enos, who shut down Hawaii Prep in last-season’s fifth-place game.
On the front end of a BIIF doubleheader at 10 a.m. Thursday at Hans L’Orange Stadium in Waipahu, Oahu, runner-up Konawaena (5-7-1) draws fourth-seeded Kauai (9-3), which finished third a year ago. The Wildcats haven’t won in the quarterfinals since 2009.
Water polo
Generally speaking, BIIF teams have a chance in the state waters when they’re not facing a team from the ILH or Kahuku of the OIA.
With that in mind, Konawaena (7-5) makes its state debut at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday in Honolulu in the first round against Kalani (7-4), an OIA No. 5 seed which hasn’t been to states since 2009.
In the quarterfinals, the winner gets second-seeded Kahuku, which has reached the semifinals of all 11 state tournaments.
The only team with a better history at states than Kahuku is defending seven-time champion Punahou, which is on the same side of the bracket as BIIF champion Kamehameha-Hawaii (11-1). The Warriors will play either Kapolei or Leilehua in the quarterfinals. Kamehameha hasn’t reached the semifinals since 2011.
Golf
A new boys champion will be crowned at Waikoloa Kings’ Course as the tournament turns 50 with 18 holes on tap Thursday and Friday.
Of the 96 players in the field, 14 are from the BIIF, including two-time champ Trevor Hirata of Waiakea. Waiakea’s Shon Katahira placed in the top 10 at states last season. In 2014, three players shot 142 and advanced to a playoff, but only Punahou’s Kyle Suppa returns.
The Buffanblu are the two-time champion.
Tennis
The BIIF hasn’t had a state champion since 2010, when Kealakehe’s Sayo Tsukamoto won a girls singles title and Waiakea’s Kallen Mizuguchi and Kaito Mizutani won boys doubles.
BIIF champions Emily Soares of Hilo and JJ Minakata of Hawaii Prep are seeded third and sixth, respectively, for a tournament that runs Thursday through Saturday at Central Oahu Regional Park.
The defending champions, Punahou’s Kawika Lam and St. Francis’ Taylor Lau, are the top seeds. Lam defeated Minakata last season in the quarterfinals.
Both BIIF doubles champions, Konawaena’s Tresen Arakaki and Brant Yamamoto and Waiakea’s Marissa Hayashi and Jordan Melchor, are seeded sixth.
Volleyball
It’s the second year of Division I regional hosting at Koaia Gym in Keaau. Hilo gets Kahuku, which fell to Kamehameha-Kapalama in three sets last year, on Friday.
BIIF champion Kamehameha gets a break and doesn’t face big brother and the ILH runner-up. The Warriors get the Kalaheo-Lahainaluna winner on Saturday.
Judo
All three 2014 state champions from the BIIF graduated, but Waiakea’s Kellen Goya (132 pounds), Kealakehe’s Aaron Arellano (220) and Hilo’s Cassandra Tongpalan (139) all drew No. 1 seeds Saturday in Honolulu.
Among the No. 2 seeds is Kamehameha’s Kayla Araki, who heads back to Oahu after finishing third in wrestling in March, while Waiakea Dayton Towata is the No. 3 seed at 145 after finishing third at 132 last season.
Hilo’s Kody Minemoto (178) and Chris Kubota (198), Waiakea’s Kyana Shimabuku (115) and Keaau’s Mikele Pokakaa are the other No. 2 seeds.
